Alastair Olby:- Modelling Change.

In my introduction to this evening’s session I caused Alastair a mild panic attack as I expounded on change in all its glorious guises and [“framed”] the evening for those present to take something personally useful home with  them. In the final stages of planning the evening Alastair had decided that 2 hours was not long to examine the different sorts of changes that happen in our lives and decided the focus he wanted to bring us was about our own personal change, as initiated by ourselves.
 His plan was far superior to mine so we had a really good evening! :-)
Having neatly reframed us Alastair began by asking us “what is change?”
A move from ‘Present State’ to ‘Desired State’.  Using various resources to help us, reframing, state changes, belief changes, modelling, well formed outcomes, fizziology, and action.  The first point of all this being a desire to change. Once we know what it is we want to change the process can begin, though to make change work for us its important to know when it is happening and what evidence we will notice to confirm change is taking place.
(Editor’s note:- Once we know what we want to change its important to phrase our new state in positive terms. Often we can be very clear about stuff we no longer want in our lives but we need to focus on the positive alternative or we end up with more of the stuff we are trying to move away from.)
We then split into pairs and explored our thoughts on how to move from ‘present state’ to ‘desired state’, holding in mind something we would like to change. The results of all this were :- Reframing the Goal to be a possibility, easy and achievable. Valuing the Baby in the Bathwater. Having a specific desire, intent and focus. Taking the first step, looking for evidence and continuing to take further steps once start.
Having helped us warm the brain cell Alastair then shared his findings from modelling people who change effortlessly. What is it makes it easy for them?

1) They want to do more of what makes them tick. (Stuff they are good at and enjoy doing).  This is what ‘Leaders’ look for in their ‘people’, (Check out last month’s meeting report, hey its almost as though there is a theme to this year!!)
2) The Goal is not THE Goal, its just part of the journey.
3) Motivation to change: “Who will I become?” (As a result of the journey)
4) Flow. (In the zone). That place where the ‘challenge’ is within our ‘skill zone’ Not beyond it or beneath it. Where we feel equal to the challenge but know it will stretch us.
Time for some self-analysis. Alastair introduced us to a simple model.

Which of your daily activities fit into each of the four boxes? E.g. cleaning the loo might be an O.K. or a CRAP job for you, or it may be in the Genius box! How much time in percentage terms do you spend in each box every day?
Do you admit to being a Genius at anything? (How do you know?)
Which box would you like to spend most time in?
After our ‘prep’ time to play.
Forming into different pairs we helped each other to fully experience how it was for us as we stood in ‘crap’ and considered the sub modalities! Then we moved to ‘O.K.’ Then to ‘excellent’ and  finally to ‘GENIUS’. What did we notice? How did it feel, look, taste, hear, smell and seem? Who were we when in ‘GENIUS’? Was that a different us to who we were in the other areas?
Holding on to our discoveries in ‘GENIUS’ we then facilitated each other’s move back through ‘excellent’, ‘O.K.’ and into ‘crap’. What changed? How is it now being in ‘crap’? All this took us up to, through and out the other side of the mid-session break.
This apparently simple devise produced a lot of ‘WOWs’ and quite a few ‘very interestings’.
Alastair shared with us another secret of people who change effortlessly and elegantly. They give themselves ‘Self-care’ daily to bring themselves to a better place for operating at their peak. Getting themselves into the ‘flow zone’. What do they do? Go for a walk. Meditate. Do yoga or Tai Chi practice. Read something uplifting. Have a massage. Have a bath. Whatever is special and nurturing for their soul. Because (sorry L’Oreal) “They are worth it!”
Thank you Alastair for an engaging and thought provoking evening. Sharing with us a useful tool and a new way to help us change and grow.
This talk of Genius States reminds me of Nelson Mandela’s speech:-

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented, famous?
Actually who are you not to be?
You are a child of your God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking,
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us.
And as we let our light shine,
we unconsciously give permission to other people to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others."
 

SO GO FORTH AND LET YOUR OWN GENIUS SHINE.

Return to NLP-South main site